The Sunday market springs back

Oh how we love the Sunday market in our commune of Watermael-Boitsfort. And if we forgot that just a little bit over the winter (even though it was about as beautiful a winter as we could ever hope to have), it is now abundantly clear once again. You can get everything here: fruits and vegetables, cheese, bread, flowers, rotisserie chicken (be prepared to wait in line), fresh pasta, quiches, cured meats, fish, nuts and dried fruit, candy, plants. There are specialized stalls for poultry, beef, pork, and lamb. You can stop for a glass of wine. You can buy socks. I could go on.

It’s not a farmers’ market per se—you can buy pineapples and lemons and bananas—but it is seasonal nonetheless. And when a particular item is in season, it’s everywhere. It being the height of spring there is of course a lot of choice right now, but there is no doubt that the current stars of the show are strawberries and asparagus.

I usually do a couple loops, partly because I get a little turned around and partly because I like to see what’s on offer before plunking down my euros. Thankfully the stands stay in roughly the same place from week to week. Come with a list if you must, but be prepared to find yourself leaving with more peonies than you can carry, a hunk of comté, and the first apricots of the season, because you just couldn’t resist.